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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Services Board - Minutes - 8/12/2025BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING Board Room & Virtual August 12, 2025 K:\Agendas and Minutes\DHS Board\Minutes\2025 DHS Board Minutes\2025-08-12_BCDHS_Board_meeting_minutes -FINAL.docx 1 Board Members Present: James Crandall, Mary Dougherty (left at 5:00 p.m.), Teri Hanson, Marty Milanowski, Jeremy Oswald, Sue Rosa, Donna Lundin, Amy Nigbor, Jeff Holte Board Members Absent: None Others Present: Stephanie Eder, Tom Croteau, Christopher O’Dell, Madelaine Rekemeyer (left at 5:00 p.m.), Birttany Kuka – Chequamegon Counseling, LLC Call to Order and Introductions Crandall called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m. Introductions were made. Discussion and Possible Action – Review and approval of the June 26, 2025, meeting minutes. Motion by Milanowski, seconded by Rosa, to approve June 26, 2025, meeting minutes. All in favor. Motion passed. Program Presentation – Auxilia Initiative, Inc. - Brittany Kuka, LPC, Chequamegon Counseling, LLC, Washburn, WI  Brittany Kuka of Chequamegon Counseling, LLC spoke to the board to present Auxilia Initiative, Inc.  Auxilia Initiative, Inc.’s mission has three purposes: provide early treatment of psychological trauma after crisis to community members and first responders, increase access to mental health services by increasing therapist training and community engagement, and provide outreach services and increase community referral network.  Their vision is to be a community-wide prevention and early intervention program, to be a well- known resource for people when a crisis occurs, and for first responders to be able to do their jobs with the support they need.  Kuka discussed their use of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. EMDR is a specialized type of therapy that has been shown to be a highly effective treatment for many different mental health concerns, particularly trauma. EMDR is based on the idea that during a traumatic event, memories are not processed or stored correctly. They are often stored in a way that is maladaptive to us, that does not help us function our best. EMDR utilizes something called bilateral stimulation (tapping, eye movements, or tones) that allows the brain and body to reprocess the maladaptively stored information and can help disturbing memories "lose their charge". FINAL: Approved at 9/25/25 BCDHS Board meeting BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING Board Room & Virtual August 12, 2025 K:\Agendas and Minutes\DHS Board\Minutes\2025 DHS Board Minutes\2025-08-12_BCDHS_Board_meeting_minutes -FINAL.docx 2  Kuka explained they host monthly groups for first responders to process the experiences they have recently encountered, offer group or individuals sessions to first responders after a crisis or difficult call, provide training to first responders to help them better cope with stressors and witnessing traumatic incidents and offer individual or group sessions to community members after a crisis.  Kuka discussed other recent programs, such as having eight Auxilia therapists trained in EMDR and soon in Recent Traumatic Episode Protocol (RTEP)/Group Traumatic Episode Protocol (GTEP), collaborating with first responder expert Dr. Margaret Gavian to create a customized resilience training for first responders in our community (small, rural community, as opposed to the Twin Cities where she is based), creating first responder liaisons to champion mental health in their work, developing content for an information video to share with the public as they launch the ‘community’ phase of the organization and creating referral cards for easy access to information and referrals.  Kuka discussed how this can help DHS workers by explaining secondary trauma, which is the emotional distress and trauma symptoms experienced by those who are exposed to the trauma of others. Some symptoms can include anxiety, depression, social withdrawal, emotional numbness, difficulty concentrating, sleep or appetite changes, decrease in compassion, physical ailments such as fatigue and heading and many more. DHS Workers not only hear about other’s trauma, but they often are also witnessing it firsthand and may even be experiencing their own trauma while doing their job. GTEP sessions and training have been offered to DHS employees to help process experiences they have encountered while at work.  Kuka discussed how the program is expanding into the community by adding additional therapists to increase their capacity to serve, offering GTEP and RTPE to community members after crisis and utilizing a Service Coordination who can identify needs, provide information, main communication with a person in crisis and coordinate with volunteer therapists to identify timely scheduling.  Rekemeyer questioned if services are free. Kuka confirmed they were.  Milanowski asked if it was being utilized in Bayfield County. Croteau stated it was and within the next few weeks, we should know if we received a grant to help them expand their services.  Croteau stated since traumatic events affect the whole team and Auxilia has been working with entire DHS teams.  Oswald asked if the therapists are volunteers or paid workers. Kuka stated they were volunteers and are willing to always help when needed. Croteau added the therapists get trained and can use the training in their regular jobs. Oswald asked if they were licensed. Kuka confirmed they are and discussed the vetting, interview and orientation process they all go through. BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING Board Room & Virtual August 12, 2025 K:\Agendas and Minutes\DHS Board\Minutes\2025 DHS Board Minutes\2025-08-12_BCDHS_Board_meeting_minutes -FINAL.docx 3  Holte asked if non-first responders could use this program. Kuka stated it is part of the community expansion project they are working on. They have been providing the service but are not yet advertising it currently. Monthly Section Reports Aging and Disability Services (A&D) – Brynna Watters-Moffitt  Michele R. and Alex E., Adult Protective Services (APS) have been extremely busy responding to reports of alleged self-neglect, financial exploitation and needs for guardianships and protective placements.  Bayfield County’s Home Delivered Meals Program was one of the top three nominees for Northlakes Community Clinic’s “100 Who Care Ashland & Bayfield Counties Social Services Category”. We have been invited to an event at the Wild Rice Retreat Center on September 15, 2025, to present for 5 minutes about the Home Delivered Meal program including some of the challenges we face with the delivery of meals and how the program would use the $11,000 if chosen. We are very honored and excited about this recognition and opportunity.  Alex and Brynna were in the ER last week for over 3.5 hours for an Emergency Protective Placement and for close to 1.5 hours at the Cancer Center meeting with the individual and his social worker. Brynna said, “My mind and energy have been mostly consumed with APS. It continues to be very busy! On a positive note, Alex is getting a lot of great experience and is coming along very well.” Support Services (SS) – Stephanie Eder  Support Services is fully staffed, and the new employee training is going well.  Ann Ehler is setting up the EHR programs. We have partnered with Ashland County for the training. There is a tentative implementation date of December 31, 2025.  Eder completed the 2026 budget.  Support Staff is working with County Clerk’s office to review possible software replacement. Support Staff participated in a day-long training on August 12 on a program that would replace multiple systems. The system is used by many companies, both public and private. It will be a big expense up front but it will be worth it. The total expense is unknown at the current time. Economic Support Services Section Manager – Jeanine Spuhler  Aaron Kalmon is in the process of completing Benefit Recovery training so that he can provide back-up supervision to the NIMC Benefit Recovery team.  DOA is preparing for the program year 2026 of the Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program. The program is funded by the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the Public Benefits (PB) program. Although funding for LIHEAP is still unknow for PY26, the department is hoping to have more information by the end of September.  The Economic Support team continues to work hard and provide excellent customer service for the residents of Bayfield County. BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING Board Room & Virtual August 12, 2025 K:\Agendas and Minutes\DHS Board\Minutes\2025 DHS Board Minutes\2025-08-12_BCDHS_Board_meeting_minutes -FINAL.docx 4  Croteau read a letter received from a community member about how helpful Aaron Kalmon and Jessica Soulier are to those in need.  Dougherty asked if no word is received about LIHEAP in September, if that indicates there will be no funding. Croteau confirmed that is the case but he has been in discussion with Mark Abeles- Allison about next steps if needed.  Oswald asked if anyone has reached out to Congresspeople about the possible loss of funding. Croteau stated there has been outreach at the State and Federal level. Behavioral Health and Community Programs (BHCP) – Tom Croteau  Vanessa (Ness) Pierce started several weeks ago as the newest member of our BH team. She is BH case manager working alongside Jamie Allen. Her onboarding is going well, and she is fitting in well with the rest of the team.  We continue to look for a BH and Community programs manager. A candidate was chosen but declined the offer due to the lack of PTO.  Case numbers remain consistent in CCS.  I really appreciate the stability of staff with many now 3+ years with the team. I have a lot of confidence in them….  Ann with Stephanie’s team is also beginning the build process of some of the new programs in our EHR-ECHO Family Services (FS) – Jo Beth Gonzalez  Last week Jo Beth attended the WJCIA (Wisconsin Juvenile Court Intake Association) Regional Meeting which was hosted by Sawyer County in person. This is a great ongoing collaboration meeting quarterly to discuss Youth Justice case work.  We hold weekly staffing with the District Attorney’s office to discuss referrals or intakes, potentially upcoming or in process cases and ongoing matters in Child Protection and Youth Justice. It has opened a great line of communication that we will continue to foster!  Jo Beth is enrolled for the fall in Supervising Safety Impending Danger which is a follow up from the Spring of Supervising Safety Present Danger. This is a time intensive training that meets twice in person, virtual individual coaching sessions and has regular and routine weekly work on your own learning and homework.  Elaina Majetich, our new Aide, is in her 3rd week with us and has been a great addition! Elaina works part-time in this 20 hour/week position.  Out-of-home placement updates: o 2 tribal residential placements are looking to wrap up this month o An additional YJ group home placement will be most likely discharging to the parental home o A Child at Mendota high-cost placement will be ending in October o Two other group home placements are continuing at this time with no discharge date known at this time o One youth at a DOC facility is not billed to the county due to the nature of situation. The cost of this placement could have been well over one million dollars. o We will have another child we are searching for a residential placement and that will likely remain until they age out (about 1.5 years). BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING Board Room & Virtual August 12, 2025 K:\Agendas and Minutes\DHS Board\Minutes\2025 DHS Board Minutes\2025-08-12_BCDHS_Board_meeting_minutes -FINAL.docx 5 We never know or predict the future for placement needs but to share at this time given budget conversation. Kids are coming to our system with more mental and behavioral health needs, and we are in an oasis of outpatient/in home services as well as the needs can be high that what we can implement, or support does not always meet the need. This is a common theme that is also talked about across the state.  There is an upcoming overnight training at the September WJCIA-Youth Justice conference. Manager and one worker are likely to attend.  Child Welfare Conference in September as well may have 1-2 workers but it is not known at this time.  Jo Beth also wants us to point out again how she is in awe of dedication, effort and best practice of staff through the chaotic business that can be their normal workdays.  Croteau stated the interview for the Youth Justice Case Manager position went well.  Nigbor asked if we had anyone staying at Winnebago and what the cost was. Croteau stated we no longer do, but he believed the cost was approximately $1,200 per day. Monthly Reports Monthly Financial and Overnight trainings were reviewed and retained. Discussion and Possible Action – Review and approval of the proposed 2026 DHS Budget  Eder presented the budget to the board.  Croteau stated we were able to create the budget without a requested levy increase; however, the upcoming wage study is not included.  Nigbor, Oswald and Rosa asked questions regarding the provided budget. Croteau and Eder provided answers to their questions. Motion by Oswald, seconded by Milanowski, to accept the 2026 DHS Budget. All in favor. Motion passed. Discussion and Possible Action – Approval of the 2024 DHS Annual Report  Eder presented the 2024 DHS Annual Report.  Rosa asked which provider provided Supportive Home Care. Eder stated she was not sure at the time, but Croteau would find out and follow up via email.  Croteau commended the Support Staff members who worked on the report (Christopher O’Dell and Sarah Traaholt) and provided it nearly two weeks before it was due. Motion by Milanowski, seconded by Holte, to accept the 2024 DHS Annual Report. All in favor. Motion passed. Future Meetings  September 25, 2025  October 23, 2025 BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING Board Room & Virtual August 12, 2025 K:\Agendas and Minutes\DHS Board\Minutes\2025 DHS Board Minutes\2025-08-12_BCDHS_Board_meeting_minutes -FINAL.docx 6  December 2, 2025 (November/December meeting, begins with potluck at 3:30) Crandall adjourned the meeting at 5:29 p.m. Submitted by Christopher L. O’Dell, Clerk III